All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Shall we go for optimism? A young Jamaican woman is inspired by…Walt Disney

Petchary's Blog

When I read the local headlines I am often filled with gloom. We are all tired of reading about gangs and corruption, COVID-19, and the terrible abuse of our women and children. It is depressing. I think some of my pessimism has carried over into the Climate Change Conference (known as COP26) which will be dominating international headlines for the next two weeks. It is fine for the leaders of developed and developing countries to make impressive speeches in Glasgow – it is almost as if they are trying to out-do each other with their fine words – but what is happening at home? Are they practicing what they preach? In a radio interview this very evening, environmentalist Peter Espeut “claims PM’s Management of Cockpit Country Runs Counter to His Message at COP26.” Precisely.

And yet, before I become altogether too cynical… Yes, words can inspire. I heard about a…

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Boebert and Gaetz under fire over ‘joke’ to blow up Capitol metal detectors at rally | The Independent (Me: While traitor jokes about bombs, we wonder why he has not been arrested for sedition, as well as sex trafficking?)

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert and her fellow GOP House member, Matt Gaetz from Florida, have come under fire for joking about blowing up the Capitol metal detectors.

Mr Gaetz was speaking at a rally for Florida State Representative and Congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini on Sunday when he falsely claimed that the metal detectors were installed because of Ms Boebert, who carries a firearm.

The metal detectors were installed following the Capitol riot on 6 January when a mob of Trump supporters laid siege to the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.

“My friend Lauren Boebert from Colorado – they put in metal detectors on the floor of the House … because she’s a five-foot-nothing woman, she carries a firearm for her personal protection,” Mr Gaetz told rallygoers.

“They got triggered by that. I said, ‘Is it tannerite or C4 we want to put in those metal detectors when we blow them up?’” he added.

Source: Boebert and Gaetz under fire over ‘joke’ to blow up Capitol metal detectors at rally | The Independent

What happened on Jan. 6: Trump stands back as rioters breach Capitol – Washington Post

President Donald Trump had just returned to the White House from his rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6 when he retired to his private dining room just off the Oval Office, flipped on the massive flat-screen television and took in the show. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, thousands of his supporters were wearing his red caps, waving his blue flags and chanting his name.

Live television news coverage showed the horror accelerating minute by minute after 1:10 p.m., when Trump had called on his followers to march on the U.S. Capitol. The pro-Trump rioters toppled security barricades. They bludgeoned police. They scaled granite walls. And then they smashed windows and doors to breach the hallowed building that has stood for more than two centuries as the seat of American democracy.

The Capitol was under siege — and the president, glued to the television, did nothing. For 187 minutes, Trump resisted entreaties to intervene from advisers, allies and his elder daughter, as well as lawmakers under attack. Even as the violence at the Capitol intensified, even after Vice President Mike Pence, his family and hundreds of Congress members and their staffers hid to protect themselves, even after the first two people died and scores of others were assaulted, Trump declined for more than three hours to tell the renegades rioting in his name to stand down and go home.

Source: What happened on Jan. 6: Trump stands back as rioters breach Capitol – Washington Post

Tristeza y alegría

Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga

SANTIAGO GALICIA ROJON SERRALLONGA

Derechos reservados conforme a la ley/ Copyright

Oh, tristeza mía, que asfixias mi ser y decoloras mi alegría, ¿en qué momento creciste tanto, en el jardín de mi existencia, cuando pensaba que las flores siempre crecerían ufanas y me alegrarían? Oh, tristeza, que te empeñas en carcomer mis sentidos, ¿hasta cuándo te desterraré de mis sentimientos, de mis ideas, de mis movimientos? Oh, tristeza, que te hospedas en mí y atrofias mis sueños, mis esperanzas, mis ilusiones, mis alegrías, ¿con qué armas podré vencerte? Oh, tristeza, que me tomas preso al amanecer y al anochecer, al mediodía y en la tarde, con la amenaza de conducirme a la horca o a la guillotin, ¿por qué insistes en encerrarme en una mazmorra oscura, lejos de mí y de los demás? Oh, tristeza tan gris, por qué escapas de mis poemas y te aferras en destrozar mis actos…

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Sitaphal Basundi

Inhale Peace; Exhale Love. Joy will Follow! - RUELHA

Custard apples{sitaphal in Hindi} are my absolute favourite. They’re so good on their own. And sitaphal basundi or sitaphal kulfi or sitaphal ice cream or even cream-of-sitaphal, yes just about all desserts made using this element… are super delicious. They’re seasonal, so only during the monsoons. Maharashtra gets the juiciest and plumpest sitaphals. And this year, they’re still available even post-monsoon. I intend to write a light-hearted short poem dedicated to my genuine love for this delectable fruit!

Custard Apple

You know I love you, Custard-Apple If I could, I'd build you a chapel And everyone who came to worship Would forget about hatred, jealousy and gossip Because, a happy tummy Takes away much worry It could be just momentary But joy is worth it, even if temporary Sweetness in every bite But, you've got lots of seeds inside Reminds me about the complexity of life Good and bad experiences…

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Forgiveness, Love, and everything in between

Inhale Peace; Exhale Love. Joy will Follow! - RUELHA

Without forgiveness, there cannot be love Both of these emotions are sent from above God is love; and we were created out of a surplus of that same love We love because He first loved us; it's a blessing from above But, unfortunately humanity hasn't fathomed its purity And made it all about fleeting feelings of lust and vulgarity Understanding, sacrafice, patience and forgiveness are the tenets of this emotion All around teenagers and innocent souls are seeking this magic potion The reason why most people feel so incomplete Instead, they try to complete themselves with things that seem sweet But the reason why they even feel the need to love and feel loved Is because they were created from love, by love and to love After scouting the depths of the oceans They still confuse this delicate emotion It's about self-sacraficing and putting another before you It's about serving…

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Opinion | No, Vaccine Mandates Aren’t an Attack on Freedom – The New York Times

But the U.S. right is, in effect, trying to keep the pandemic going. We talk a lot about misinformation on social media, some of which — surprise! — appears to be the product of Russian disinformation. However, the role of the right-wing establishment has surely been far more important. Fox News serves up anti-vaccine messages almost every day. Republican governors have tried to ban vaccine mandates not just by local governments and school districts but by private businesses. Multiple Republican attorneys general have filed suit to stop federal vaccine mandates.

The expressed rationale for all this activity is that it’s about protecting freedom. In reality, while there are several reasons for vaccine resistance, politics is a significant driver of the agitation. A successful vaccination campaign could mean a successful Biden administration, and the right is determined to prevent that, no matter how many avoidable deaths result from vaccine sabotage. It’s noteworthy that Fox has a very strict vaccination policy for its own employees.

Still, the case against vaccine mandates, however disingenuous, needs to be answered on the merits. Yet I at least have rarely seen the case against a right to refuse vaccination fully explained, even though you could hardly come up with a better example than Covid-19 vaccination if you wanted to design a hypothetical situation in which arguments for freedom of choice don’t apply. And I think it’s worth spelling out exactly why.

First, personal choice is fine — as long as your personal choices don’t hurt other people. I may deplore the quality of your housekeeping, but it’s your own business; on the other hand, freedom doesn’t include the right to dump garbage in the street.